12 years later: Fortuna parade marks 9/11

The annual 9/11 Fortuna Memorial Parade will be held today at noon on Main Street in Fortuna.

The entire community is encouraged to participate and to bring an American flag to carry in the parade. The parade will start at the city parking lot on "L" Street between 11th and 12th streets. The route will go down 11th Street to Main Street, then along Main Street to the Veterans Memorial Building.

The anniversary of the terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people 12 years ago was designated a National Day of Service and Remembrance in 2009. This year, a constellation of volunteer networks around the world will spread goodwill through volunteerism to honor those who died.

Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge manager Richard Guadagno was among the thousands who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

He was flying back to the West Coast after a two-week vacation visiting family in New Jersey and Vermont when terrorists hijacked his flight.

But unlike hijacked planes flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Richard Guadagno's flight came down in a field in Shanksville, Pa., killing everyone on board. Those who knew him insist Richard Guadagno was one of the passengers who fought back against the terrorists, causing the plane to crash in that field instead of its intended target, which some believe was the White House.